System, method, and software application for displaying data from a web service in a visual map

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system, method, and software application for enabling a user to view data from an external data source in a visual map, wherein the external data source has a web services interface. Visual mapping software on a computer provides a visual mapping interface in which a user can create, edit, and/or view a visual map. Within the visual mapping interface, the visual mapping software provides the user with an option to obtain data from one or more data sources associated with a web service. In response to the user selecting a data source associated with a web service, the visual mapping software builds a web service request for the web service associated with the selected data source. The visual mapping application makes a call to the applicable web service with the web service request. The visual mapping application subsequently receives data from the web service and transforms the data into a format that can be used to generate visual map data. The visual mapping software then displays the data in a visual map.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/882,556 titled “System and Method for GraphicallyIllustrating External Data Source Information in the Form of a VisualHierarchy in an Electronic Workspace,” which was filed on Jul. 1, 2004and which is incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to visual mapping systems, and, moreparticularly, to displaying data from a web service in a visual map.

2. Description of the Background Art

Visual maps, such as mind maps and topic maps, provide an excellent wayfor users to view large amounts information in an organized, graphicalformat. A visual map is a diagram that represents ideas and/orinformation in topics. Examples of visual maps are mind maps, topicmaps, semantic networks, and concept maps. Visual maps are increasinglyused to help people generate, classify, and/or organize ideas andinformation and to see such ideas and information in a hierarchical,visual layout. Visual maps are used for project management, work-flowanalysis, organizational charts, and other purposes.

FIG. 1 is an example of a visual map for information related to awireless communication project meeting. The visual map in FIG. 1 is amind map. Mind maps are made up of hierarchically-arranged topics. Themain topics in FIG. 1 are “Action Items”, “Purpose”, “Agenda”, “TimePlace”, “Participants”, and “Purpose.” Each of these topics hassubtopics. For instance, “Implementation” is a subtopic for “ActionItems,” and “Carry out Launch” is a subtopic of “Implementation.” Userstypically create topics in a visual map by inserting or importing textand graphic elements into topics.

Users typically create visual maps using proprietary visual mappingsoftware. Mindjet LLC's MINDMANGER® and MINDJET CONNECT are examples ofsuch software.

The Internet and the World Wide Web (the “Web”) have made a wealth ofinformation available to Internet users. Many companies and otherentities have made data available via Web Services (“web services”). Webservices are a web-based interface to a data source. A computer can makea call to a web service based on the web service's published API(application programming interface). For example, a company with a CRMsystem may have a web-service interface to the CRM system. This meansthat the CRM data can be obtained by a program that makes a call to theweb service associated with the CRM system.

It would be desirable to enable a user to view web service data within avisual map. Therefore, there is a need for a visual map interface fromwhich a user can initiate a web service call.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a system, method, and softwareapplication for enabling a user to view data from an external datasource in a visual map, wherein the external data source has a webservices interface. A web service is a service made available from anentity's web server and accessible on the World Wide Web via theInternet.

Visual mapping software on a computer provides a visual mappinginterface in which a user can create, edit, and/or view a visual map.Within the visual mapping interface, the visual mapping softwareprovides the user with an option to obtain data from one or more datasources associated with a web service.

In response to the user selecting a data source associated with a webservice, the visual mapping software determines whether or not the webservice is associated with any user-configurable parameters. If so, thevisual mapping software enables the user to enter user-configurableparameters.

After a user has entered any user-configurable parameters, the visualmapping software builds a web service request for the web serviceassociated with the selected data source. The visual mapping applicationmakes a call to the applicable web service with the web service request.The visual mapping application subsequently receives data from the webservice and transforms the data into a format that can be used togenerate visual map data. The visual mapping software then displays thedata in a visual map.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the user need not initiatethe web service request. In such alternate embodiment, the visualmapping software automatically makes a web service call (for example,upon launch of a visual map) and display the data from the web servicein a visual map.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of a mind map.

FIGS. 2 a-b are a flowchart that illustrates a method, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, for enabling a user to view datafrom a web service in a visual map.

FIG. 3 illustrates an outline of a web service definition.

FIGS. 4 a-c are screen shots of a visual mapping interface, wherein thescreen shots illustrate an example implementation of the presentinvention

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a visualmapping system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides a system, method, and softwareapplication for enabling a user to view data from an external datasource in a visual map, wherein the external data source has a webservices interface.

A web service is a service made available from an entity's web serverand accessible on the World Wide Web via the Internet. A web service isa way to obtain data from an entity via a web interface. A computer canmake a call to a web service based on the web service's published API(application programming interface). For example, a company with a CRMsystem may have a web-service interface to the CRM system. This meansthat the CRM data can be obtained by a program that makes a call to theweb service associated with the CRM system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The method is implemented by visual mapping software runningon a client computer (including, but not limited to, web browser-basedapplications) or a server computer. As stated above, Mindjet LLC'sMINDMANAGER and MINDJET CONNECT software are examples of visual mappingsoftware.

Referring to FIG. 2, visual mapping software on a computer provides avisual mapping interface in which a user can create, edit, and/or view avisual map (step 210).

Within the visual mapping interface, the visual mapping softwareprovides the user with an option to obtain data from one or more datasources associated with a web service (220). Examples of the type ofdata that can be obtained from a web service include:

-   -   Search results from a search engine (e.g., GOOGLE, YAHOO, MSN)    -   Stock ticker information    -   Inventory system data    -   Human resource information    -   Data from databases that have a web-service interface

There are multiple ways in which a user can initiate a web servicerequest within the visual mapping interface. For example, the visualmapping interface may include icons representing data sources associatedwith a web service, and a user may click on one of the icons to importdata from such data source.

In response to the user selecting a data source associated with a webservice (step 225), the visual mapping software determines whether ornot the web service is associated with any user-configurable parameters(step 230). If so, the visual mapping software enables the user to enteruser-configurable parameters (step 240). In one embodiment, the visualmapping software provides a dialog box or form into which user can enteruser-configurable parameters.

After a user has entered any user-configurable parameters, the visualmapping software builds a web service request for the web serviceassociated with the selected data source (step 250). The web servicerequest is built in accordance with the API for the web service. If theuser has entered user-configurable parameters for the search, the webservice request includes the user-configurable parameters, as well asany default parameters associated with the selected search domain. Ifthere are no user-configurable parameters, then the web service requestincludes default parameters (if any).

After building a web service request, the visual mapping applicationmakes a call, via the Internet, to the applicable web service with theweb service request (step 260). The visual mapping applicationsubsequently receives data from the web service (step 270). The visualmapping software transforms the data obtained from the web service intoa format applicable to visual maps (step 280). For example, it is commonfor web service results to be in the form of XML. In such case, thevisual mapping application may perform an XSLT transformation on thereceived data to transform it into an XML format from which a visual mapcan be generated. The visual mapping software then displays the data ina visual map (step 290).

In the method of FIG. 2, a user initiates the web service request from avisual mapping interface. However, in an alternate embodiment of theinvention, the user need not initiate the web service request. In suchalternate embodiment, the visual mapping software automatically makes aweb service call (for example, upon launch of a visual map) and displaythe data from the web service in a visual map.

In one embodiment, when a user selects a data source associated with aweb service, the visual mapping software retrieves a web service“definition” for the data source. A web services “definition” specifies(i) the parameters associated with the web service request, (ii) therequirements for building a web service request, and (iii) instructionson how to handle and transform the data returned from the web servicerequest.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example outline of a web services definition. Thedefinition includes a Parameters section 310 that specifies any defaultparameters or user-configured parameters that should be included in aweb service request. The Web Service Definition section 320 specifieshow to build a web service request for the particular web serviceassociate with the definition. The rules in this section ensure that theweb service request is compatible with the API for the web service. TheTransformation section 330 specifies how to transform data received fromthe web service to a data format used by the visual mapping system. Inthe preferred embodiment, the data from a web services is in XML format,and the transformation is a XSLT transformation that transforms the XMLdata from the Web Service into an XML format used by the visual mappingsoftware. In one embodiment, a web service definition is an XML filethat is compiled into a search map part.

FIGS. 4 a-4 c illustrate an example implementation of the presentinvention. In this example, a user has the option to obtain searchresults from several search engines that have a web services interface,namely GOOGLE, YAHOO, and LIVE SEARCH. Although the web services in thisexample are associated with search engines, this invention is notlimited to search engines. The invention can be used to obtain and viewdata in a visual map from any data source having a web servicesinterface.

In the present example, the user selects a search domain by either (i)dragging an icon representing a search domain to a topic with searchterms or (ii) selecting a topic with search terms and clicking on anicon representing the search domain.

In FIG. 4 a, a user has selected topic 410 in visual map interface 400and clicked on the GOOGLE icon 422 to initiate a GOOGLE search for “LungCancer.”

In the example of FIGS. 4 a-4 c, the number of search results displayedis a user-configurable parameter. When a user selects the GOOGLE searchdomain, a dialog box 430 appears (FIG. 4 b). The dialog box 430 includesa “Results” field 440 into which a user can specify the number of searchresults he/she wants to see in the visual map. A default parameter mayinitially be displayed in field 440. The dialog box 430 also includes asearch terms field 450 (i.e., the “Look for” field). In this example,the default entry for search terms field 450 is “Lung Cancer,” as theseare the terms entered into topic 410. Dialog box 430 gives the user theopportunity to change the search terms.

After the user selects the “OK” button 460 in dialog box 430, the visualmapping software builds a web services request for GOOGLE, where therequest specifies that the search terms are “Lung Cancer” and the numberof search results desired is ten. The GOOGLE web service then returnsthe top ten search results for “Lung Cancer” on the GOOGLE searchengine. FIG. 4 c illustrates the results from a Google search of “LungCancer” displayed in a visual map.

The visual map in FIG. 4 c includes a topic 440 that indicates thatGOOGLE was the search domain associated with the search resultsdisplayed. In this example, topic 440 was added as a subtopic to topic410 in response to the user selecting GOOGLE as the search domain. Topic440 is referred to herein as a web services “map part” (the Google icon422 is also considered a “map part” that became topic 440). Bydisplaying data from a web service as subtopics to a web service mapparts in the map, a user viewing the map can see the web service thatwas used to obtain data. This can be helpful if the user viewing the mapwas not the user who created the map.

Web service map parts can be added at any level of the map. For example,in FIGS. 4 a-4 c, a search web services map part can be added as asubtopic to (i) the central topic “Cancer Research” 405, (ii) the “LungCancer” topic 410, or (iii) any of the search results displayed in FIG.4 c. In addition, a web services map part can be the central topic of amap. In one embodiment a web services map part is a type ofcontent-specific topic, where one of the properties of the topics isthat is able to make a call to a web service (e.g., software codecapable of performing the method of FIG. 2 is compiled into the topic).A content-specific topic is designed specifically for a type of content.One implementation of content-specific topics are described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/478,220, titled “System and Method forProviding Content-Specific Topics in a Mind Mapping System,” and filedon Jun. 29, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated by reference asif fully described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a visual mapping system 500 in whichthe present invention can be implemented. Visual mapping system 500 isonly an example, and the invention is not limited to this example.

In system 500, a user can create visual map from a visual mappingdesktop client 510 or a visual mapping web client 520. These visualmapping clients 510, 520 are served by a visual mapping server 530.Mindjet LLC's MINDJET CONNECT is an example of a visual mapping serverapplication. After a user creates or edits a visual map, the visualmapping client (510 or 520) sends the map data to the visual mappingserver 530, which stores the data in a file system or a database 540.Visual maps with web service data can be saved and shared with otherusers. In one embodiment, web services data is refreshed when a map witha web services map part is opened (i.e., a web service call is made eachtime the map is opened).

A visual map can be stored as a file, or the topics in a map can bestored in individually in a database, as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/001,533 titled “System and Method for Enabling aUser to Search and Retrieve Individual Topics in a Visual MappingSystem,” which was filed on Dec. 12, 2007 and which is incorporated byreference as if fully disclosed herein.

The method of FIG. 2 can be implemented by the visual mapping client(510 or 520) in conjunction with the visual mapping server 530. Themethod of FIG. 2 can also be implemented by visual mapping softwarerunning in an external application, such as the visual mapping softwarewith the network module described in the U.S. patent application titled“System, Method, and Software Application for Enabling a User to Viewand Interact with a Visual Map in a Non-Visual Mapping Application,”filed on Nov. 10, 2008, and having inventors Neil S. Mendelson, WilliamJ. Creekbaum, and Andriy O. Mochalskyy, the content of which areincorporated by reference herein.

As will be understood by those familiar with the art, the invention maybe embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit oressential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the above disclosure ofthe present invention is intended to be illustrative and not limiting ofthe invention.

1. A method for enabling a user to view data from an external datasource in a visual map, wherein the external data source has a webservice interface, the method comprising: building a web service requestfor the external data source; sending the web service request to the webservice associated with the external data source; receiving data fromthe web service in response to the web service request; transforming thedata into a format that can be used to generate visual map content; anddisplaying the data in the visual map.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe data from the web service is received in XML format and an XSLTtransformation is applied to the data from the web service to transformthe data into another XML format used to generate visual map content. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the web service request is sent upon thelaunch of the visual map.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the externaldata source is a CRM system.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theexternal data source is a server that provides weather information. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the external data source is a server thatprovides stock quote information.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theexternal data source is a server that provides human resourceinformation.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the external data sourceis a database with a web service interface.
 9. A method for enabling auser to view data from an external data source in a visual map, whereinthe external data source has a web service interface, the methodcomprising: providing a visual mapping interface on a computer;providing the user with an option, within the visual mapping interface,to obtain data from one or more external data sources associated with aweb service; in response to the user selecting an external data sourceassociated with a web service, determining whether or not the webservice is associated with any user-configurable parameters; in responseto determining that the web service is associated with one or moreuser-configurable parameters, enabling the user to enter suchuser-configurable parameter(s); building a web service request thatincludes any user-configurable parameters and any default parameters forthe web service; sending the web service request to the web service;receiving data from the web service in response to the web servicerequest; transforming the data into a format that can be used togenerate visual map content; and displaying the data in the visual map.10. The method of claim 9, wherein providing the user with an option toobtain data from one or more data sources associated with a web servicecomprises displaying a map part for each such data source.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein a user selects a data source by adding themap part to the visual map.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the datafrom the web service is received in XML format and an XSLTtransformation is applied to the data from the web service to transformthe data into another XML format used to generate visual map content.13. The method of claim 9, wherein the external data source is a CRMsystem.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the external data source is aserver that provides weather information.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein the external data source is a server that provides stock quoteinformation.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the external data sourceis a server that provides human resource information.
 17. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the external data source is a database with a webservice interface.
 18. A computer program embodied on acomputer-readable medium and comprising code, that, when executed by acomputer, enables the computer to perform the following method: buildinga web service request for an external data source; sending the webservice request to a web service associated with the external datasource; receiving data from the web service in response to the webservice request; transforming the data into a format that can be used togenerate visual map content; and displaying the data in a visual map.19. The computer program of claim 18, wherein the data from the webservice is received in XML format and an XSLT transformation is appliedto the data from the web service to transform the data into another XMLformat used to generate visual map content.
 20. The computer program ofclaim 18, wherein the web service request is sent upon the launch of thevisual map.
 21. The computer program of claim 18, wherein the externaldata source is a CRM system.
 22. The computer program of claim 18,wherein the external data source is a server that provides weatherinformation.
 23. The computer program of claim 18, wherein the externaldata source is a server that provides stock quote information.
 24. Thecomputer program of claim 18, wherein the external data source is aserver that provides human resource information.
 25. The computerprogram of claim 18, wherein the external data source is a database witha web service interface.
 26. A computer program embodied on acomputer-readable medium and comprising code, that, when executed by acomputer, enables the computer to perform the following method:providing a visual mapping interface on a computer; providing the userwith an option, within the visual mapping interface, to obtain data fromone or more external data sources associated with a web service; inresponse to the user selecting an external data source associated with aweb service, determining whether or not the web service is associatedwith any user-configurable parameters; in response to determining thatthe web service is associated with one or more user-configurableparameters, enabling the user to enter such user-configurableparameter(s); building a web service request that includes anyuser-configurable parameters and any default parameters for the webservice; sending the web service request to the web service; receivingdata from the web service in response to the web service request;transforming the data into a format that can be used to generate visualmap content; and displaying the data in a visual map.
 27. The computerprogram of claim 26, wherein providing the user with an option to obtaindata from one or more data sources associated with a web servicecomprises displaying a map part for each such data source.
 28. Thecomputer program of claim 27, wherein a user selects a data source byadding the map part to the visual map.
 29. The method of claim 1,wherein the external data source is a computer having a web serviceinterface.
 30. The method of claim 9, wherein the external data sourceis a computer having a web service interface.
 31. The computer programof claim 18, wherein the external data source is a computer having a webservice interface.
 32. The computer program of claim 26, wherein theexternal data source is a computer having a web service interface.